WE will shortly elect a new district council but one of the most important decisions affecting the Wyre Forest, namely educational provision for the next 30 years, will be taken in Worcester on July 5.

It is my belief that senior LEA officers want only two high schools in Kidderminster. The reality of this proposal is that Wolverley High School would be closed.

On the projected numbers given in the consultation document, if there were only two high schools, they would be huge, probably as large as 2,000 students.

There are many powerful reasons why such huge schools should be avoided. In other parts of the country, large schools serving areas with some challenges have fallen foul of Ofsted and are now being divided up to make them more manageable.

If Wolverley High School is closed, the reality is that many parents would send their children to the independent sector or over the border into Kinver rather than have them attend a large town centre school.

Lessons should be learned from Redditch where hundreds of children cross the county boundary daily to attend schools in Warwickshire.

The need for new homes nationally will inevitably create more development in this area, especially as there are still a number of brownfield sites to build on.

If a school is already huge, one cannot simply push more young people into it. A third school will be required and, if it no longer exists, it will have to be built with all the consequent disruption to catchment areas.

The promise made by LEA officers is for new school buildings in the area. There is no guarantee of this, however, and, even if there were, it is not concrete, glass and steel that make a school.

Wolverley High School is heavily over-subscribed, proving its popularity. We have an excellent record of improving examination results. We have the best value-added position of the five high schools in the district and we have a site that is a perfect place for young people to grow and learn.

No modern building, bursting at the seams with students and crammed into a tight town centre location, would compare.

I challenge all district council candidates to give an assurance that representatives of their parties who sit on the county council cabinet will not agree to close Wolverley High School.

R BAYLISS

Chairman of Governors

Wolverley High School